Stand for tube writing pens



Aug. 26, 1969 H. RIEPE 3,463,323

STAND FOR TUBE WRITING PENS Filed'April 14, 1967 v 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 v m N B; N

m bk N x 0 $2 INVENTOR. 'Jfelmqik Jfiepe Aug. 26, 1969 I H. RIEPE 7 3,463,323

Filed April 14. 1967 Z SheetS-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. JfeZ m u?/? 5159p e United States Patent 3,463,323 STAND FOR TUBE WRITING PENS Helmuth Riepe, Hamburg, Germany, assignor, by mesne assignments, to Rapidograph, Inc., Bloomsbury, N.J., a corporation of New Jersey Filed Apr. 14, 1967, Ser. No. 630,957 Int. Cl. A47f 7/00; B43] 27/02 US. Cl. 21169.5 3 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE This invention is directed to a stand for tube writing pens that includes a container filled with water-asborbent material and provided with a plurality of tubular holders inserted therein. The bottoms of the tubular holders are provided with one or more openings to permit passage of moisture and their inner walls are provided with a plurality of radial fins for receiving and retaining the Writing heads of the pens inserted in the holders.

This invention relates to a stand for tube writing pens or, more particularly, for the tube writing heads thereof.

Fountain penstands comprising holders for the reception of the pens have been known in the art for a long time. In order to prevent the fountain pen nibs, ball points and so forth from losing moisture to the surrounding air and the writing ink from becoming dry, it has already been proposed to locate the holders in the upper part of a reservoir containing water, the bottom ends of the holder communicating directly with the water bath. This arrangement has the drawback that the reservoir containing the water is not sealed and that water can be spilt when the stand tilts In another proposed arrangement, a tubular holder has a closed bottom end and consists entirely or partly of a porous material, the holder being immersed in a water-filled reservoir. This form of construction does not permit a humid atmosphere inside the holder to be maintained when the stand has been in use for some time, because dust and other contamination rapidly makes the porous surface impervious.

A major drawback of the holders hitherto used, irrespective as to whether they consist of porous material or Whether their interiors communicates directly with the water, is that the tapering shape of the tubular holder and that of conventional fountain pens creates a space which is cut oif from the ambient atmosphere when the pen is inserted, and that the writing end of the pen is therefore occluded within this space. Particularly when the temperature varies, droplets of water condense on the point of the pen in such a closed space and these may cause the writing fluid to run out or to be diluted, particularly in the case of the tube writing pens. In many instances this may result in the tube writing pen making blotches or dribbling when it is first applied to the paper or in other cases the dilution of the writing fluid may lead to the lines traced by the pen being faint.

It is therefore an object of the present invention to overcome these drawbacks, namely to prevent (a) water from being spilt from the stand, (b) the interior of the tubular holder from being inadequately supplied with moisture and (c) water from condensing on the writing head of the tube writing pen. Moreover, the holder should be so devised that the head of the tube writing pen is sufficiently tightly held in the holder to permit the barrel of the pen to be screwed onto the threads of the writing head without causing the head to rotate in the holder, but nevertheless not to prevent the writing head from being pulled upwards out of the holder without any trouble.

According to the present invention there is provided a stand for a tube writing pen, wherein a tubular holder for the reception therein of the head of at least one tube writ- 3,463,323 Patented Aug. 26, 1969 ice.

ing pen, the bottom end of the holder having one or more openings, is inserted into a container filled with a waterabsorbent material, and wherein several inwardly projecting fins or webs are provided on the inside walls of the holder.

The present construction permits suflicient moisture to enter the holder interior through the openings or slits, whereas the water absorbent material inside the container prevents droplets of liquid from directly entering the holder; moreover, the inwardly projecting fins or webs locate the tube writing head in the tubular holder in such a way, that contrary to the arrangement hitherto believed to be necessary, an occluded space which is separated from the ambient atmosphere and in which water of condensation could form, is not created in the interior of the holder. The inwardly projecting fins or webs prevent the usually milled part of the head of the tube writing pen from rotating and they therefore permit a barrel to be attached to the head by screwing without any difficulty. Nevertheless, the fins permit the head of the tube writing pen to be readily withdrawn in the upward direction.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention the inwardly projecting fins or Webs extend obliquely inwards and they have a sharp edge in the region in which they are intended to engage a milled part of the tube writing head. This improves the fixation of the head and facilitates its withdrawal from the holder.

Furthermore, a plurality of holders may be fitted into a container of the stand in a row.

With these and other objects, the nature of which will be apparent, the invention will be more fully understood by reference to the drawings, the accompanying detailed description and the appended claims.

In the drawings:

FIGS. 1a and 1b are a perspective and part sectional view respectively of a tubular holder with a tube writing head inserted therein, and

FIG. 2 is a general view of a stand provided with a plurality of holders.

The tubular holder 2 shown in FIGS. 1a andlb comprises a cylindrical portion 4 merging into a tapering portion 6 which is closed at the bottom by a floor 12. The upper end of the cylindrical portion 4 of the holder is formed with a bulbous lip 8, and the tapering portion 6 of the holder is formed with longitudinal slits which extend partly into the floor 12 of the holder. Moreover, fitted to the inside wall of the holder 2 are fins or webs 14, four or more in number as may be deemed advisable. However, it is an essential feature that sufficient clearance should remain between the fins to provide communication between the interior of the holder and the ambient atmosphere. Located inside the holder is the writing head 20 of a tube Writing pen. This has a milled edge 22 for engaging inwardly projecting portions 16 of the fins which are preferably tapered.

As will be understood from FIG. 2, several of the holders are fitted into a container 24 which is filled with a packing 26 of absorbent material, such as pieces of sponge or foamed material. The container 24 is preferably tiltably and/or detachably mounted on a base 28. Underneath each of the several holders 2 the base may be formed with a bore or tapped hole 30 for the reception of a marking button 32 in respect of each tube writing head. This facilitates inserting the writing heads of the tube writing pen into their allocated holders. Moreover, a horizontal ledge 34 on the base 28 may be formed with a shallow trough 36 for the reception of a barrel for the several tube writing heads. It is also useful to provide the container with a water level indicator or a humidity gauge. Furthermore, the back of the container may be fitted with supplementary brackets or fastening magnets to permit the container 24, when it is detached from its base, to be attached to some other object, such as a drawing board.

I claim:

1. In a stand for a tube writing pen wherein is provided a container filled with a water absorbent material; the combination of a generally vertical open top tubular holder for said pen extending downwardly from the top of said container into association with said water absorbent material, the bottom of said tubular pen holder being provided with at least one opening to permit passage of moisture therethrough from said container, the inner Wall of said tubular pen holder being provided with a plurality of radial fins directed inwardly a distance sufiicient to define a plurality of longitudinal chambers disposed annularly between the inner wall of said tubular chamber and the outer wall of a pen head when said pen head is inserted into the void defined by the inner edges of said fins.

2. The stand of claim 1 in which the inner edges of said fins are profiled to correspond to at least a portion of the pen writing head that is retained within the limits of said fins.

3. The stand of claim 2 in which the edges of the profiled portions of said fins are adapted to lock an inserted pen head against rotary movement relative to said tubular pen holder.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS CASMIR A. NUNBERG, Primary Examiner U.S. C1. X.R. 

